The Talkative Employee
One of the things most managers try to encourage is a high level of communication – because we all understand the consequences of poor communication. Ironically, however, issues can sometimes surface when you have someone on the team who communicates, well, too much.
You’ve probably met these people. In team meetings, training sessions, and even casual conversations, they like having the floor. They embellish. They expand. They provide excruciatingly ponderous detail to the point of being painful.
"Too much communication" has negative side effects
While we still want to encourage employees to communicate as much as possible, this is definitely the exception. And it’s important that you deal with it for a couple of reasons:
The first and most obvious of these is productivity. Frequent extended explanations and conversations consume more time than most people realize. The second is the impact that an overly talkative employee can have on your team. When one person consistently dominates conversations, other people can become frustrated, tune out, or stop contributing altogether.
So, how do you address this behaviour without embarrassing or discouraging talkative employees? Assuming they are otherwise valuable members of your team, the last thing you want to do is demotivate them. Your goal is less about reducing how much they talk, than it is to help them communicate more effectively.
They may not realize they're doing it
The best approach is to recognize that these aren’t people who wake up in the morning thinking, “I can’t wait to start annoying people today.” Quite the opposite, in fact. They want to do well, and are typically quite committed to achieving success.
It’s possible that no one has ever pointed out their tendency to over-explain. Or, they may be aware that they talk a lot, but simply don’t realize how significantly it affects the people around them. Whichever is the case, you have to have a chat with these employees – for their sake and the team’s. Pick a time shortly after one of their soliloquies, and follow these six steps:
Try this approach:
- Find a quiet spot where you can have a private conversation.
- As gently as you can, find out if they are already aware of their behaviour.
- Explain that you would like to help him become a little more concise – at least while at work. Tell them you’re concerned that people might take their ‘attention to detail’ the wrong way, and perceive their speaking style negatively.
- Reinforce their positive qualities, and reinforce the benefits of making this change.
- Agree on a signal you can use to indicate when they are falling into old patterns
- Acknowledge their efforts
Your support and positive reinforcement here are critical. Much of overly-talkative behaviour is fuelled by a desire for respect, and your acknowledgement of effort and wins has a far greater impact than you might realize.
Whatever you do, don’t give up on these employees. Changing speech habits learned over a lifetime is no small challenge, and you can play a big role in their success.
